President Barack Obama has come under criticism from Republicans for refusing to interrupt his Martha’s Vineyard vacation to visit or even personally comment on the devastating flooding in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that has killed more than a dozen and devastated the lives of tens of thousands of Americans, but he’s gotten a pass from Democrats and the mainstream media.
In 2008, however, then Senator Obama was much less forgiving of President Bush’s handling of the flooding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, attacking him for flying over the flooded city rather than visiting it.
Supporters of President Obama have not criticized him for golfing during the crisis, saying a presidential visit would be logistically problematic considering the security requirements in the midst of rescue efforts. No such understanding was extended to President Bush during Katrina, even though he visited the area only a few days later.
Barack Obama offered no such understanding when Bush occupied the Oval Office.
Watch:
#Trump2016 heads to visit victims of Baton Rouge while Obama Golfs w/Hollywood, Here’s Obama in 2008 after Katrinahttps://t.co/xKmvJFypjh
— Hillary Sleeps In (@ThePatriot143) August 19, 2016
“When the people of New Orleans and Gulf Coast extended their hand for help, help was not there. When people looked up from the rooftops, for too long they saw an empty sky. When the winds blew and the flood waters came, we learned for all of our wealth and our power, something wasn’t right with America. We can talk about what happened for a few days in 2005, and we should. We can talk about levies that couldn’t hold, about a FEMA that seem not just incompetent but paralyzed and powerless, about a president who only saw the people from a window on an airplane instead of down here on the ground, trying to provide comfort and aid,” Obama said then. “We can talk about a trust that was broken, the promise that our government would be prepared, will protect us, and will respond in a catastrophe.”
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, along with his vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence, are visiting Baton Rogue Friday. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has not announced plans to visit the area.
